DR. MCDREAMY TURNS INTO NIGHTMARE

Dr. McDreamy is out of control! Grey's Anatomy hunk Patrick Dempsey recently flew into such a violent rage during the filming of a scene that he sent his onscreen wife running in tears — and he's even hinted he may be leaving the show!

According to show insiders, the 41-year-old actor became so irate while filming a flashback scene in which he reacts to the news that wife Dr. Addison Shepherd — played by 35-year-old Kate Walsh — cheated on him, he frightened the wits out of everyone on the set.

"Patrick did a Marlon Brando-style freakout during the particularly dramatic scene," said a source on the set. "No one, least of all Kate, was prepared for Patrick's violent, jealous rant.

"He got so carried away with his character that he went off script — grabbing Kate by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall, and then kicking in a glass door. The crew was so startled, cameras stopped rolling.

Kate was so unnerved by Patrick's over-the-top outburst that she burst into tears and ran off to her trailer."

Patrick's publicist says the scene was "very emotional," but denied there were any problems, saying it "went well."

The source also revealed that Patrick is so aware of how much he's contributed to the show's success and enormous female audience that he's intimated he may be leaving the show soon. "He's been dropping hints about moving on to new projects, spending more time with his family and his auto racing hobby," said the source. "The show's producers think it's all a ploy to get a bigger paycheck."

Just in case Patrick does decide to split, execs for the show plan to bolster the show's hunk appeal by increasing the number of episodes with Chris O'Donnell's veterinarian character and by beefing up the romantic story line of Dr. Mark Sloan (the plastic surgeon known as Dr. McSteamy), played by Eric Dane.

Said the source: "Patrick may be a big part of the show, but it's not his show."